A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a new and improved water softening unit that is positioned between a washing machine mixing valve and the washing machine basket, and to a valve for the water softening unit.
B. Description of the Prior Art
In many locations the available water supply contains large quantities of minerals rendering the water hard and undesirable for many uses such as washing clothes. Typically, to surmount this problem water softeners are included in the household and are connected to the municipal water line. The water is softened by this unit for use by the various family service units such as the washing machine.
In order to avoid the expense of softening the entire household water supply, water softening units have been proposed that may be attached to the washing machine and positioned between the appliance and its mixing valve. Typically, such softeners employ solenoid operated regenerating valves and special contacts on the cycle timer of the appliance to operate the regeneration cycle.
An example of this type of prior art water softening unit is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,680,703. The device described in that patent includes a mixing valve actuated by a solenoid. The solenoid is electrically connected to a timer mechanism that operates the washing machine through its various cycles and is also used to activate the regeneration cycle.